VIDAS SUSPENDIDAS
The Project
Every migrant’s story is a beast all its own. Barbed wire to the touch, or mazapan tender. Wrought from brittle citizenship or building shelter in a place where the neighbors call them monster.
In Vidas Suspendidas (Suspended Lives), Latinx artists from across Philadelphia shed their favored mediums and reclaim the piñata as a common cultural construction. What emerges, are life sized self portraits embodying Mexican iconography and kinetic self realization.
This project was created by Nora Hiriart Litz, director for Art and Culture at Puentes de Salud, and co-sponsored by Puentes de Salud.
Vidas Suspendidas is an exploration of the immigrant narrative set in liminal space. A restoration of latinidad as not only a politically charged identity, but a mystic existence. Together, the Vidas Suspendidas artists dissect their common obstacles, and celebrate their individuality through sculpture and story.
Audio Stories
José, English
About the Process
Videography and Directing: Antonio Arroniz
Editing: Jose Mazariegos
Beautiful Mexico: Oso Kalako
Translation: Ivonne
A PhillyCAM Production
Acknowledgements
Lead Artist
Nora Hiriart Litz
Contributing Artists
Damara, Damaris, Ivonne, Dulce C., Dulce N., Antonio, Ari, José, Nacho
Special Thanks
Dr. Steve Larson, Esther Morales, Alexandra Wolkoff, Alvaro, Tenara Calem, Katie Dammers, Melissa Joseph, Chelsea Nader, Carol Deutsch, Christine Manzur, Judy Vassallo, Melissa D’Agostino, Ludy Soderman, Paul Spencer, Edelweiss, Graciela
Photography
Nora Hiriart Litz, Leah Reisman
Videography
Antonio Arroniz
Audio Recording and Editing
Nora Hiriart Litz
Poetry
Ari Gutierrez
Translation and Interpretation
Nora Hiriart Litz, Leah Reisman
Coordination
Leah Reisman
Web Design
Leah Reisman
Technical Support
Israel Rodríguez, Antonio Arroniz, José Lemus, Ivonne, Cristian
Nora Hiriart Litz is a printmaker and painter born in Mexico City. She attended the Arts Students League in New York and received her BFA at Moore College of Art and Design. Nora currently works in between Philadelphia and Mexico City via a career focused on the arts, education, and activism for human rights. Since 2013, Nora has served as the inaugural Director of Art and Cultural programming for Puentes de Salud. In recent years, she received grants from the Leeway Foundation and National Association of Latino Arts and Culture to support her work.
Puentes de Salud (Bridges of Health) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that promotes the health and wellness of South Philadelphia’s rapidly growing Latino immigrant population through high-quality health care, innovative educational programs, and community building. The foundation of Puentes de Salud rests on the belief that community health is not the sole domain of health care providers. Health and wellness result from a collaborative, multidisciplinary effort that focuses on addressing the conditions in which we grow, learn, live, work and age.